Search results for ""Quercus Publishing""

London today is embattled as rarely before. In a city of enormous wealth, poverty is rampant. The burnt-out hulk of Grenfell Tower stands as an appalling reminder that inequality can be so acute as to be murderous. Here, Claire Armitstead has drawn together fiction, reportage and poetry to capture the schisms defining the contemporary city. With nearly 40% of the capital's population born outside the country, Tales of Two Londons eschews what Armitstead labels a "tyranny of tone," emphasising voices rarely heard. Featuring writers such as Ali Smith, Jon Snow, Arifa Akbar and Ruth Padel alongside stories from previously unpublished immigrants and refugees, this is a compelling collection which captures the fabric of the city: its housing, its food, its pubs, its buses, even its graveyards.

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Raj is oblivious to the Second World War being fought beyond his tiny exotic island. His mother is his sole company while his father works as a prison guard, so the boy thinks only of making friends. One day, from the far-away world, a ship brings to the island Jewish exiles who have been refused entry to Israel. David, a recently orphaned boy of his own age from Prague, becomes the friend that he has longed for, and Raj takes it upon himself to help David to escape from the prison. As they flee through sub-tropical forests and devastating storms, the boys battle hunger and malaria - and forge a friendship only death could destroy.

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From star of Great British Bake Off, heart-wrenching romantic fiction about a scandalous love affair between a professional cook and a high-ranking politician. If exposed it could wreck both their careers.Kate is thirty-six and mother to five-year-old Toby. She has a thriving business catering for private clients and her life is on an even keel. That is, until she gets a job cooking lunch at the Foreign Office and has her first fateful meeting with Oliver Stapler, Secretary of State. He's powerful and charismatic, but also married and a father. He's totally out of bounds but she falls for him. When a journalist spots them together, he alerts the gutter press. Who cares whether Kate's affair with Oliver is true or not? It's a great story and will sell a ton of newspapers - and destroy several lives in the process.

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Second historical thriller in the Alexander Seaton series sweeps the hero back to his roots in Ulster, and a family living under a curse and riven with long-held secretsAberdeen, 1628.Alexander Seaton's happily settled life as a university teacher is shattered by the arrival in town of a stranger who looks like his twin and who carries a plea for help from Alexander's dead mother's family in Ireland. The family has been placed under a poet's curse, threatening death to various members. Elements of the curse have already begun to play out. Reluctantly answering the call, Seaton travels to Ulster, to find himself among a family torn apart by secrets and deep resentments. As he seeks out the author of the curse, he becomes deeply entangled in a conflict that involves fugitive priests, displaced poets, rebellious plotters and agents of the king. Confronted by murder within his family, he finds the lines between superstition and faith, duty and loyalty are becoming increasingly blurred, while his Scottish homeland grows ever more remote.

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The richly varied lives of the Martin brothers reflected the many upheavals of Britain in the age of Industrial Revolution. Low-born and largely unschooled, they were part of a new generation of artists, scientists and inventors who witnessed the creation of the modern world. William, the eldest, was a cussedly eccentric inventor who couldn't look at a piece of machinery without thinking about how to improve it; Richard, a courageous soldier, fought in the Peninsular War and at Waterloo; Jonathan, a hellfire preacher tormented by madness and touched with a visionary genius reminiscent of William Blake, almost burned down York Minster in 1829; while John, the youngest Martin, single-handedly invented, mastered and exhausted an entire genre of painting, the apocalyptic sublime, while playing host to the foremost writers, scientists and thinkers of his day. In The Prometheans Max Adams interweaves the fascinating story of these maverick siblings with a magisterial and multi-faceted account of the industrial, political and artistic ferment of early 19th-century Britain. His narrative centres on a generation of inventors, artists and radical intellectuals (including the chemist Humphry Davy, the engineer George Stephenson, the social reformer Robert Owen and the poet Shelley) who were seeking to liberate humanity from the tyranny of material discomfort and political oppression. For Adams, the shared inspiration that binds this generation together is the cult of Prometheus, the titan of ancient Greek mythology who stole fire from Zeus to give to mortal man, and who became a potent symbol of political and personal liberation from the mid-18th century onwards. Whether writing about Davy's invention of the miner's safety lamp, the scandalous private life of the Prince Regent, the death of Shelley or J.M.W. Turner's use of colour, Adams's narrative is pacy, characterful, and rich in anecdote, quotation and memorable character sketch. Like John Martin himself, he has created a sprawling and brightly coloured canvas on an epic scale.

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At the dawn of the Roman Empire, when tyranny ruled, a daughter of Egypt and a son of Rome found each other...Selene's parents are gone, her country has been taken from her and she has been brought to the city of Rome in chains, with only her twin brother, Alexander, to remind her of home and all she once had. Paraded as captives and brought to live among the ruling family, Selene and her brother attend lessons, learning how to be Roman and where allegiances lie. Devoting herself to her artistic skill and training as an architect, she tries to make herself useful, in hope of staying alive and being allowed to return to Egypt. But before long, she is distracted by the young and handsome heir to the empire. But all is not well in the city and when the elusive 'Red Eagle' starts calling for the end of slavery, causing riots and murder, and the Roman army goes to war, Selene and Alexander, the children of Mark Antony, Rome's lost son and greatest rival, find their lives in grave danger.

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A hunt for a stolen painting turns into a murder investigation for Spenser, Robert B. Parker's legendary private eye.Private Detective Spenser is on his easiest job yet. Art professor Ashton Prince has hired him to help recover a stolen painting. The thieves will return it in exchange for a ransom. All Spenser has to do is accompany Prince, just in case. And collect his fee. But, as Prince walks away from the exchange towards Spenser's car carrying the wrapped painting, it explodes. Prince is gone, and with him, Spenser's cash. Starting to investigate, Spenser discovers Prince's past is far from squeaky clean, but nothing warrants going to such unusual lengths to kill him. Who did it, and why?

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Following a rash moment of insolence, Dr Siri Paiboun, Laos' reluctant national coroner, confused shaman and disheartened communist, is forced to go on a road trip with Judge Haeng and the Justice Department. While newly pregnant Nurse Dtui and Dr Siri's fiance Madame Daeng are left at the morgue to defend the staff against exploding corpses and geriatric gunslingers, Siri has his own problems. On a deserted jungle trail, Siri is kidnapped. His only route to freedom is to exorcise the local village of its demon - but that means lifting the curse of the pogo stick.

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Fully illustrated with 400 of the most striking and up-to-date astronomical images and covering all the major constellations and landmarks of the night sky, The Stargazer's Handbook reveals the treasures of the cosmos - what they are, where they are, and how to see them, including month-by-month guides to the changing hemispheres and tips and guides on the best stargazing equipment. This new compact edition is perfect for browsing at home or accompanying you out at night under the stars. Filled with stunning photography, this book is all you need to start discovering the universe.

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Who invented zero? Why 60 seconds in a minute? How big is infinity? Where do parallel lines meet? And can a butterfly's wings really cause a storm on the far side of the world? In 50 Maths Ideas You Really Need to Know, Professor Tony Crilly explains in 50 clear and concise essays the mathematical concepts - ancient and modern, theoretical and practical, everyday and esoteric - that allow us to understand and shape the world around us. Packed with diagrams, examples and anecdotes, this book is the perfect overview of this often daunting but always essential subject. For once, mathematics couldn't be simpler. Contents include: Origins of mathematics, from Egyptian fractions to Roman numerals; Pi and primes, Fibonacci numbers and the golden ratio; What calculus, statistics and algebra can actually do; The very real uses of imaginary numbers; The Big Ideas of relativity, Chaos theory, Fractals, Genetics and hyperspace; The reasoning behind Sudoku and code cracking, Lotteries and gambling, Money management and compound interest; Solving of Fermat's last theorem and the million-dollar question of the Riemann hypothesis.

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Italy's Maigret returns in another smouldering noir from a master of the police procedural "A master storyteller" Barry Forshaw, IndependentA few days before Christmas, with Parma gripped by frost and fog, Ghitta Tagliavini, the elderly owner of a guesthouse in the old town centre, is found murdered in her apartment. The case is assigned to Commissario Soneri, but the investigation holds a painful, personal element that sends waves of nostalgia sweeping through him. Tagliavini's guesthouse is where Soneri met his late wife Ada, and where the young couple spent unforgettable hours in each other's company. But the present can embitter even the sweetest memories. An old photograph of Ada with another man sends Soneri into a spiral of despondency, ever more so when he realises her death may be linked to Tagliavina's lucrative sideline as a backstreet abortionist and faith healer. Though Soneri would like nothing more than to be allowed to drop the case, he doggedly persists, uncovering at last, along with the truth behind Tagliavini's death, rife corruption at Parma's rotten heart and a raft of ghosts from Italy's divisive past.Translated from the Italian by Joseph Farrell

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After her husband's sudden death over ten years ago, Kate Westhoven never expected to be lucky enough to find another love of her life. But now she's planning her second walk down the aisle to a perfectly nice man. So why isn't she more excited?At first, Kate blames her pre-wedding jitters on stress. But when she starts seeing Patrick, her late husband, in her dreams, she begins to wonder if she's really ready to move on. Is Patrick trying to tell her something about his death and is there a chance his nighttime visits could be more than just wishful thinking?

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How different are men and women's brains? Does altruism really exist? Are our minds blank slates at birth? And do dreams reveal our unconscious desires? Psychology is everywhere in today's society. No crime fiction, documentary, chat show or medical consultation is complete without the introduction of a psychological angle. Psychology seeks to understand and explain thoughts, feelings and behaviour through a dizzying array of ideas and theories, shedding light on everything from memory, social mobility and attitude formation to delusions of grandeur, alcoholism and computer phobia, to name a few. In 50 Psychology Ideas You Really Need to Know, Professor Adrian Furnham explains the central ideas of psychology in 50 concise and accessible essays. Packed with the latest research, most important case studies and arguments of key thinkers, this book is the perfect introduction to psychological theory. Contents include: Placebo effect; Kicking the habit; Hallucinations; Positive psychology; Emotional intelligence; IQ and you; Multiple intelligences; The Rorschach inkblot test; Detecting lies; Obedience to authority; Self-sacrifice or selfishness; Gambler's fallacy; Remembrance of things past; Artificial intelligence; Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon; Psychosexual stages; Tabula rasa; Phrenology; Dyslexia.

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'BRINGS ALL THE BEAUTY OF DEEPEST FRANCE VIBRANTLY ALIVE' - Irish Independent on SundayBruno, Chief of Police's beloved Dordogne town of St Denis is tearing itself apart. Can he keep it together in the gripping eighth instalment in this internationally bestselling series? St Denis may be picturesque and sleepy, but it has more than its fair share of murder and mystery, as Bruno knows all too well. When Bruno is invited to the 90th birthday of a powerful local patriarch - a war hero with high-level political connections in France, Russia and Israel - he encounters a family with more secrets than even he had imagined. When one of the other guests is found dead the next morning and the family try to cover it up, Bruno knows it's his duty to prevent the victim from becoming just another skeleton in their closet. Even if his digging reveals things Bruno himself would rather keep buried.Meanwhile, very modern battles are being fought in St Denis between hunters defending their traditions and environmentalists protecting local wildlife. Neither side, it seems, is above the use of violent tactics. At the centre of it all, Bruno must use all his cunning and character to protect his community's future from its present - and its past.

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When Abwehr Captain Eberhard Mock is called from his New Year's Eve revelries to attend a particularly grisly crime scene, even his notoriously robust stomach is turned. A young girl - and suspected spy - who arrived by train from France just days before, has been found dead in her hotel room, the flesh torn from her cheek by her assailant's teeth. Ill at ease with the increasingly open integration of S.S., Gestapo and police, Mock is partially relieved to be assigned to liaise with officers in Lvov, Poland, where a series of similar crimes - as yet unsolved - cast a long shadow over the town.

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The day begins like any other Saturday for beautiful Parisian restaurateur Aurélie Bredin, until she wakes up to find her apartment empty - her boyfriend gone off with another woman. Heartbroken, Aurélie walks the streets of Paris in the rain, finally seeking refuge in a little bookshop in the Île Saint-Louis, where she's drawn to a novel titled The Smiles of Women by obscure English author Robert Miller. She buys it and takes it home, but when she begins to read she's astonished: The Smiles of Women can't possibly be about her restaurant, about her. Except, it is. Flattered and curious to know more, Aurélie attempts to get in touch with the reclusive Mr Miller, but it proves to be a daunting task. His French publishers seem determined to keep his identity secret, and while the Editor-in-Chief André Chabanais is happy to give Aurélie his time, he seems mysteriously unwilling to help her find her author. Is Robert Miller really so shy, or is there something that André isn't telling Aurélie?

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Roads to Berlin maps the changing landscape of Germany, from the period before the fall of the Wall to the present. Written and updated over the course of several decades, an eyewitness account of the pivotal events of 1989 gives way to a perceptive appreciation of its difficult passage to reunification. Nooteboom's writings on politics, people, architecture and culture are as digressive as they are eloquent; his innate curiosity takes him through the landscapes of Heine and Goethe, steeped in Romanticism and mythology, and to Germany's baroque cities. With an outsider's objectivity he has crafted an intimate portrait of the country to its present day.

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MI5 Intelligence Officer Liz Carlyle is summoned to a meeting with her boss Charles Wetherby, head of the Service's Counter-Espionage Branch. His counterpart over at MI6 has received alarming intelligence from a high-placed Syrian source. A Middle East peace conference is planned to take place at Gleneagles in Scotland and several heads of state will attend. The Syrians have learned that two individuals are mounting an operation to disrupt the peace conference in a way designed to be spectacular, laying the blame at Syria's door. The source claims that Syrian Intelligence will act against the pair, presumably by killing them. No one knows who they are or what they are planning to do. Are they working together? Who is controlling them? Or is the whole story a carefully laid trail of misinformation? It is Liz's job to find out. But, as she discovers, the threat is far greater than she or anyone else could have imagined. The future of the whole of the Middle East is at stake and the conference deadline is drawing ever closer.

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In September 1298, the rival Italian republics of Genoa and Venice fought a fierce sea battle at Curzola off the rocky coast of southern Dalmatia. Against the odds the Venetians, led by Admiral Andrea Dandolo, son of the Doge, were defeated. Among the thousands of Venetians captives was one Marco Polo, gentleman, merchant of Venice, and sometime traveller to East Asia. Incarcerated in a Ligurian fastness, he told his story to a fellow-prisoner, a writer of romances named Rustichello of Pisa. The account of his travels that Marco Polo dictated to Rustichello in captivity - Il Milione - would be exceptionally widely read and would stimulate European interest in the East and its riches. Marco Polo: from Venice to Xanadu is Laurence Bergreen's thrilling and masterly reconstruction of the life and wanderings of one the great adventurers of world history. Between 1271 and 1275 Marco Polo accompanied his father Niccolo and uncle Maffeo on a journey east from Acre into central Asia along the Silk Route, eventually reaching China and the court of the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, Kublai Khan. Entering the service of the Khan, he travelled extensively in the Mongol Empire. The three Venetians returned home by sea in 1292-5, calling at Sumatra and southern India before reaching Persia, and making the last part of their journey to Venice overland. Three years later came that fateful encounter with the Genoese fleet in the Adriatic...

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Roger Ferris is one of the CIA's soldiers in the war on terrorism. He has come out of Iraq with a shattered leg and an intense mission - to penetrate the network of a master terrorist known only as 'Suleiman'. Ferris's plan for getting inside Suleiman's tent is inspired by a masterpiece of British intelligence during World War II: he prepares a body of lies, literally the corpse of an imaginary CIA officer who appears to have accomplished the impossible by recruiting an agent within the enemy's ranks.This scheme binds friend and foe in a web of extraordinary subtlety and complexity, and when it begins to unravel, Ferris finds himself flying blind into a hurricane. His only hope is the urbane head of Jordan's intelligence service - a man who just might be an Arab version of John le Carré's celebrated spy, George Smiley. But can Ferris trust him? And can he trust the CIA?

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10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION - FEATURES READING GROUP QUESTIONS AND NEW MATERIAL FROM STEF'S UPCOMING EPIC NOVEL, UNDER A POLE STARCOSTA AWARD WINNER and WORLDWIDE BESTSELLER. A breathtaking tale of mystery, buried secrets and romance, set in nineteenth century frontier Canada - for fans of THE SNOW CHILD and A PLACE CALLED WINTER.'Unquestionably atmospheric, evocative and rewarding' Independent on Sunday'A tense and delicately written thriller' ObserverCanada, 1867. A young murder suspect flees across the snowy wilderness. Tracking him is what passes for the law in this frontier land: trappers, sheriffs, traders and the suspect's own mother, desperate to clear his name. As the party pushes further from civilisation, hidden purposes and old obsessions are revealed. One is seeking long-lost daughters; another a fortune in stolen furs; yet another is chasing rumours of a lost Native American culture. But where survival depends on cooperation, their fragile truce cannot afford to be broken, nor their overriding purpose - to find justice for a murdered man - forgotten.The Tenderness of Wolves is a must-read historical epic, weaving adventure, suspense and humour into an exhilarating thriller, a panoramic romance and ultimately, one of the books of the last ten years.

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'Fresh, original, authentic and gritty - should be an instant classic' LEE CHILD NO ONE SEES HIM. BUT HE SEES EVERYTHING. It started with a splash. Jimmy, a homeless veteran grappling with PTSD, did his best to pretend he hadn't heard it - the sound of something heavy falling into the Tyne at the height of an argument between two men on the riverbank. Not his fight.Then he sees the headline: GIRL IN MISSING DAD PLEA. The girl, Carrie, reminds him of someone he lost, and this makes his mind up: it's time to stop hiding from his past. But telling Carrie, what he heard - or thought he heard - turns out to be just the beginning of the story.The police don't believe him, but Carrie is adamant that something awful has happened to her dad and Jimmy agrees to help her, putting himself at risk from enemies old and new. But Jimmy has one big advantage: when you've got nothing, you've got nothing to lose.Praise for The Man on the Street'Intricate, expertly paced with a shocking conclusion' M. W. CRAVEN'A unique protagonist and a cracking plotline' MARI HANNAH'Engaging and complex . . . deeply satisfying' HARRIET TYCE'A brilliant read and I love Jimmy' PATRICIA GIBNEY 'An unsparing examination of life on the streets' VAL MCDERMIDWINNER OF THE CWA JOHN CREASEY DAGGER AND OF THE SPECSAVERS DEBUT CRIME NOVEL AWARD. A THEAKSTON'S NEW BLOOD AUTHOR FOR 2020 AND SHORTLISTED FOR THE THEAKSTON'S OLD PECULIER CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD.

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NOW A MAJOR FEATURE DOCUMENTARYDetermined to cover the Syrian regime's brutal crackdown on dissent and the devastating impact of the war on Syria's civilians, veteran photographer Paul Conroy and Marie Colvin,one of the foremost war correspondents of her generation, decided to smuggle themselves across enemy lines and into the blood and terror of Homs. But tragedy struck before the pair could finish documenting the slaughter. A rocket killed Colvin and ripped a hole in Conroy's leg. As Syrian ground forces closed in on his position,Conroy was forced to make a terrifying last-ditch attempt to escape from a regime that appeared determined to murder him. Under the Wire is the epic, untold account of Conroy and Colvin's last, tragic assignment together. A rare and touching portrait of an extraordinary woman driven by an unquenchable desire to 'bear witness', it is as much a tale of courage and survival as it is the poignant account of a friendship forged amid the carnage of war.

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'An intriguing slow burner that reveals the dark side of social media' Heat'A timely, page-turner of a novel' Araminta Hall'Gripping, scarily realistic and unpredictable - brilliant!' Karen Hamilton'A twisty tale' i news**********You can't stop watching her.Violet Young is a hugely popular journalist-turned-mummy-influencer, with three children, a successful husband and a million subscribers on YouTube who tune in daily to watch her everyday life unfold.Until the day she's no longer there.But one day she disappears from the online world - her entire social media presence deleted overnight, with no explanation. Has she simply decided that baring her life to all online is no longer a good idea, or has something more sinister happened to Violet?But do you really know who Violet is?Her fans are obsessed with finding out the truth, but their search quickly reveals a web of lies, betrayal, and shocking consequences...**********'A total page-turner' 5* reader review'I was completely captivated' 5* reader review'Brilliantly addictive' 5* reader review'Warning: once you start, you can't put it down' 5* reader review

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'There is no need of prophesying that Mr. Kelley will one day be among the best American short story writers. Dancers on the Shore proves that he already is' New York Herald TribuneIn 1964, two years after the critically lauded release of his debut novel A Different Drummer, William Melvin Kelley published his first collection of short stories, Dancers on the Shore. Reissued in a new edition by riverrun, these seventeen stories expand Kelley's literary world, showcase his limitless imagination and spotlight his inimitable talent.

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'For anyone who enjoyed Hillbilly Elegy or Educated, Unfollow is an essential text' - Louis Theroux'A moving, redemptive, clear-eyed account of religious indoctrination' - Pandora Sykes'A nuanced portrait of the lure and pain of zealotry' New York TimesAs featured on the BBC documentaries, 'The Most Hated Family in America' and 'Surviving America's Most Hated Family'It was an upbringing in many ways normal. A loving home, shared with squabbling siblings, overseen by devoted parents. Yet in other ways it was the precise opposite: a revolving door of TV camera crews and documentary makers, a world of extreme discipline, of siblings vanishing in the night.Megan Phelps-Roper was raised in the Westboro Baptist Church - the fire-and-brimstone religious sect at once aggressively homophobic and anti-Semitic, rejoiceful for AIDS and natural disasters, and notorious for its picketing the funerals of American soldiers. From her first public protest, aged five, to her instrumental role in spreading the church's invective via social media, her formative years brought their difficulties. But being reviled was not one of them. She was preaching God's truth. She was, in her words, 'all in'.In November 2012, at the age of twenty-six, she left the church, her family, and her life behind.---More praise for Unfollow'A beautiful, gripping book about a singular soul, and an unexpected redemption' - Nick Hornby'A modern-day parable for how we should speak and listen to each other' - Dolly Alderton'Her journey - from Westboro to becoming one of the most empathetic, thoughtful, humanistic writers around - is exceptional and inspiring' - Jon Ronson'A gripping story, beautifully told . . . It takes real talent to produce a book like this. Its message could not be more urgent' Sunday Times

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ONE WAY TICKET is the story of a man and modern cycling.Jonathan Vaughters is one of the leading figures in world cycling, a record-breaking mountain climber, Tour de France stage winner and former teammate to Lance Armstrong. He is now manager of the renowned Education First World Tour team.In ONE-WAY TICKET: Nine Lives and Two Wheels he describes a journey from driven teenage prodigy, travelling to races in the back of his Dad's station wagon, to an obsessive determination to make it big - whatever the cost. He tells the story of his transformation from poacher to gamekeeper, detailing his painful decision to finally come clean about his own doping - and to persuade others to do likewise - by providing more than enough shocking testimony to USADA (US Anti-Doping Agency) to explode the Armstrong myth.Working in collaboration with The Times' critically acclaimed cycling correspondent Jeremy Whittle, Vaughters reveals the ease with which, his illusions shattered, he walked away from European racing. He documents his own suffering in races, the trials of establishing a team and mentoring young riders, and the dizzying highs of success in races such as the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Paris-Roubaix.Jonathan Vaughters shares his unique experience to lift the lid on a world he has both loathed and loved. Along the way he details the fights and fall-outs with cycling's leading figures, including Lance Armstrong, Pat McQuaid, Johan Bruyneel, Bradley Wiggins and Dave Brailsford.

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The deeply moving account of the extraordinary teenage survivors of the Parkland shooting.Emma Gonzalez called BS. David Hogg called out Adult America. Cameron Kasky recruited a colorful band of teenagers. Four days after escaping Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, they announced the audacious March for Our Lives. A month later, it was the fourth largest protest in American history.Dave Cullen takes us on the students' odyssey. With unrivaled access to their friends and families, meetings, homes and tour bus through gun country, he reveals the quirky, playful organizers that have taken the United States by storm. We see the students cope with shattered friendships and PTSD, along with the normal struggles of exams and college acceptances. We see victims refusing victimhood. This spell-binding book is a testament to change and an examination of a pivotal moment in American culture, a generational struggle to save every kids of every color from the ravages of gun violence. Parkland is a story of staggering empowerment and hope, told through the wildly creative and wickedly funny voices of a group of remarkable campaigners.

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** AS SEEN ON BBC FOOTBALL FOCUS AND BT SPORT **** 'Excellent and thoroughly enjoyable' Sunday Sport **** 'Informative and eye-opening . . . an inspirational and motivational book' footballbookreviews.com **'ONE MAN AND HIS QUEST TO SEE A GAME IN EVERY UEFA NATION IN ONE SEASON' Paul Doyle, GuardianIn June 2017, Matt said farewell to his job, surrendered his Fulham FC season ticket and set off for Georgia, the first stop on his mission. He would end his adventure eleven months later in Montenegro, having conquered the continent and captured the imagination of its sporting media.His epic journey would pose its challenges. Yet no amount of airport confusion in Iceland, unusual betting activity in Latvia, spectator bans in Albania or ropey breakfast buffets in Moldova would make Matt miss a matchday. And then there were the games themselves: showcasing the full spectrum of footballing theatre, from the truly sublime to the utterly ridiculous.This is the story of one fan on a once-in-a-lifetime experience: travelling to Europe's unseen corners, talking with its unsung supporters, and tracing the beautiful game across the breadth of our brilliant, bizarre continent.

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'As a mayor, I am responsible for the upkeep of rural roads; as poet, I prefer to see them neglected.'Jules Renard was a French literary figure of the late nineteenth century. Not a Parisian but a committed countryman, he was elected mayor in 1904 of the tiny village of Citry-le-Mines in a remote part of northern Burgundy. He had the soul of a rustic bourgeois but the ambition of a metropolitan, and his wife's money allowed him to move in elevated circles, though he seemed an awkward customer, a badger, and looked like one. He wrote fiction, journalism and drama, very successfully, but the Journal is Renard's masterpiece, the least categorizable work of the French fin de siècle.The Journal constitutes a profusion of entries, without stitching or pattern: mordant reflections on style, literature and theatre; portraits of family, friends and the Parisian literary scene; quasi-ethnographical observations on village life and notations of the natural world which are unlike anything except themselves.Samuel Beckett spoke of Renard in the same breath as Proust and Celine, wrote of the Journal that 'for me it is as inexhaustible as Boswell ' and believed his style was learnt from despair. Gide said the Journal was 'not a river but a distillery'. Sartre wrote that 'He invented the literature of silence'. But above all it is a moving and splintery piece of self-scrutiny.Julian Barnes has admired the Journal for many years and has made this new selection from the twelve hundred page Pléiade edition. Theo Cuffe's translation will help bring this fierce judge of human foibles to a new generation of readers.

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'As a mayor, I am responsible for the upkeep of rural roads; as poet, I prefer to see them neglected.'Jules Renard was a French literary figure of the late nineteenth century. Not a Parisian but a committed countryman, he was elected mayor in 1904 of the tiny village of Citry-le-Mines in a remote part of northern Burgundy. He had the soul of a rustic bourgeois but the ambition of a metropolitan, and his wife's money allowed him to move in elevated circles, though he seemed an awkward customer, a badger, and looked like one. He wrote fiction, journalism and drama, very successfully, but the Journal is Renard's masterpiece, the least categorizable work of the French fin de siècle.The Journal constitutes a profusion of entries, without stitching or pattern: mordant reflections on style, literature and theatre; portraits of family, friends and the Parisian literary scene; quasi-ethnographical observations on village life and notations of the natural world which are unlike anything except themselves.Samuel Beckett spoke of Renard in the same breath as Proust and Celine, wrote of the Journal that 'for me it is as inexhaustible as Boswell ' and believed his style was learnt from despair. Gide said the Journal was 'not a river but a distillery'. Sartre wrote that 'He invented the literature of silence'. But above all it is a moving and splintery piece of self-scrutiny.Julian Barnes has admired the Journal for many years and has made this new selection from the twelve hundred page Pléiade edition. Theo Cuffe's translation will help bring this fierce judge of human foibles to a new generation of readers.

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Will he ever find the life he longs for?Born to a mother who died in childbirth and an uninterested father, Niall McAndrew grows up a solitary child, without a home to call his own. His only friend is Bridget, a young girl forced prematurely into womanhood.Niall has brains, spirit and ambition, as well as being blessed with handsome good looks. But his loveless childhood has left its mark. Can he ever find the happiness he yearns for? A moving and uplifting tale of a young boy with big dreams...From the bestselling author of Far From My Father's House and Miss Appleby's Academy comes a rags-to-riches tale of one man's determination to succeed. Perfect for fans of Maggie Hope and Diane Allen.

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Do you work too much, play too little and never have enough time to devote to the people and things that truly make you happy? If yes, then pause, breathe and pour yourself a glass of wine if you like because Sarah Knight, author of the word-of-mouth bestseller The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k is here to help. The Get Your Sh*t Together Journal is packed full of practical exercises and prompts to help you work out what you want and arm you with the tools to go out and get it. Whether you're an overwhelmed under-achiever or a high-functioning basket case, Sarah Knight is here to guide you, step by step and day by day, towards living your best life every damn day. 'The anti-guru' Observer'Absolutely blinding. Read it. Do it.' Mail on Sunday'Genius' Cosmopolitan'I loved Knight's book even before I start reading . . . Works a charm' Sunday Times Magazine'Life-affirming . . . The key practice she advocates is devising for yourself a "fuck budget" . . . It's a beautiful way of streamlining your psyche' Lucy Mangan, Guardian

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Two women. Two stories. One hundred years of secrets. 'Eloquent and accomplished' Anne Griffin, author of When All Is Said A sweeping novel of love, loss, family and history for readers who love Maggie O'Farrell, John Boyne and Donal Ryan 1919Ireland is about to be torn apart by the War of Independence.Hannah O'Donovan helps her father hide rebel soldiers in the attic, putting her family in great danger from the British soldiers who roam the countryside. An immediate connection between Hannah and O'Riada, the leader of this hidden band of rebels, will change her life and that of her family forever . . . 2019Ellen is at a crossroads: her marriage is in trouble, her career is over and she's grieving the loss of a baby. After years in London, she decides to come home to Ireland to face the things she's tried so hard to escape. Reaching into the past, she feels a connection to her ancestor, the mysterious Hannah O'Donovan. But why won't anyone in her family talk about Hannah? And how can this journey help Ellen put her life back together?'A gripping novel about two women, their desires and frustrations, about the wars they find themselves fighting . . . a thrill to discover' Belinda McKeon 'A fierce, beautifully written story' Louise O'Neill

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When Mary's father, the miller, leaves his family and runs away with another woman, Mary and her siblings are left to weather the storm. But when their mother dies soon after, the children, alone and unwanted, are sent to the Foundling School for Girls to start a new life.When the miller learns of his wife's death and what has happened to his children, he tracks them down and brings them to be a part of his new family, safe at last. But the miller is desperate for a son, and when Mary's newest sibling turns out to be a girl, he begins to court a vulnerable and lonely young woman called Isabel.After Isabel gives birth to a boy, the miller believes that the son he has been waiting for is finally here. But when rumours abound that the miller may not be the father of Isabel's child, he begins to lose control. The miller will stop at nothing to keep his son.Will Isabel escape with her child, or will the miller's wrath destroy everyone in his life, including his daughter...?

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Berlin detective Bernie Gunther bows out at last in the 14th and final book of the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling series. With an introduction by Ian Rankin.'One of the greatest anti-heroes ever written' LEE CHILD'One of the greatest master story-tellers in English' ALAN FURSTBerlin, 1928, the height of the Weimar Republic. Bernie is a young detective working in Vice when he asked to investigate the Silesian Station killings: four prostitutes murdered in as many weeks, and in the same gruesome manner. Bernie hardly has time to acquaint himself with the case files before another murder occurs. Until now, no one has shown much interest in these victims - there are plenty in Berlin who'd like the streets washed clean of such degenerates. But this time the girl's father runs Berlin's foremost criminal ring, and he's prepared to go to extreme lengths to find his daughter's killer. It seems that someone is determined to rid Berlin of anyone less than perfect. The voice of Nazism is becoming a roar that threatens to drown out all others. But not Bernie Gunther's...

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Emotional family saga following the Angelotti food dynasty, from household name Prue Leith. Perfect for fans of Penny Vincenzi and Barbara Taylor Bradford.A new generation. It is 1968. Angelica Angelotti has grown up in her parents' Italian restaurant. Now she is striking out on her own in Paris. There she falls in love with her charismatic but unpredictable cousin Mario.A fresh challenge. Navigating a blossoming career, from the Savoy hotel to the world of television, alongside an increasingly toxic relationship proves impossible. The offer to run the pub on her family's estate as a restaurant seems like the perfect escape. Chorlton has called her home...A brighter future. Soon she has a thriving business, and even the chance of a new love. But when Mario reappears, determined to win her back, will Angelica be able to hold on to everything she's sacrificed so much for?

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'Ward writes with the same compelling energy as you get in a blockbuster Netflix series' Daily Mail'Filled with unexpected twists' Sarah PekkanenMaddie and Ian's romance began when he was serving in the British Army and she was a travel writer visiting her best friend Jo in Europe. Now sixteen years later, married with a beautiful son, Charlie, they are living the perfect suburban life in Middle America. But when an accident leaves Maddie badly scarred, she begins attending therapy, where she gradually reveals her fears about Ian's PTSD; her concerns for the safety of their young son Charlie; and the couple's tangled and tumultuous past with Jo.From the Balkans to England, Iraq to Manhattan, and finally to an ordinary family home in Kansas, the years of love and fear, adventure and suspicion culminate in The Day of the Killing, when a frantic 911 call summons the police to the scene of shocking crime.But what in this beautiful home has gone so terribly bad?READERS LOVE THE IDEAL WIFE'Couldn't put it down' 5* reader review'An ending like no other' 5* reader review'Extremely twisty' 5* reader review'Brilliant, thrilling, twisty' 5* reader review'Enthralling and fast-paced' 5* reader review

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THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | REESE BOOK CLUB PICK | BBC BIG JUBILEE BETWEEN THE COVERS READ'It reminds me of Where the Crawdads Sing . . . it's an amazing book' Rhys Stephenson on BBC's Between the Covers'You won't be able to put this one down!' Reese WitherspoonThey say a tiger that devours too many humans can take the form of a man and walk among us... In 1930s colonial Malaya, a dissolute British doctor receives a surprise gift of an eleven-year-old Chinese houseboy. Sent as a bequest from an old friend, young Ren has a mission: to find his dead master's severed finger and reunite it with his body. Ren has forty-nine days, or else his master's soul will roam the earth forever. Ji Lin, an apprentice dressmaker, moonlights as a dancehall girl to pay her mother's debts. One night, Ji Lin's dance partner leaves her with a gruesome souvenir that leads her on a crooked, dark trail. As time runs out for Ren's mission, a series of unexplained deaths occur amid rumours of tigers who turn into men. In their journey to keep a promise and discover the truth, Ren and Ji Lin's paths will cross in ways they will never forget.Captivating and lushly written, The Night Tiger explores the rich world of servants and masters, ancient superstition and modern ambition, sibling rivalry and unexpected love. Woven through with Chinese folklore and a tantalizing mystery, this novel is a page-turner of the highest order.'An exuberant medley of magic, romance and weirdness' The Times'[A] highly imaginative and a spellbinding read' Woman's Weekly 'I was willingly propelled into a fascinating and exotic world' Daily MailReaders love The Night Tiger'Gripping, enchanting' 5* Reader Review'Captivating from the very beginning' 5* Reader Review'Simply beautiful' 5* Reader Review'Profound' 5* Reader Review'A real feel-good and warming novel' 5* Reader Review

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The stunning new thriller from 'the proud carrier of the flag first unfurled by John le Carre' (LEE CHILD)'An espionage master' CHARLES CUMMING'Timely and terrific' MICK HERRON on Firefly'Epic ... remarkable ... his best book yet' Sunday Times on FireflyAid worker Anastasia Christakos is driving through Calabria to visit one of the new refugee centres funded by her husband, billionaire Denis Hisami, when she slows down to greet two African migrants she recognises. Too late she realises it is an ambush. She manages a desperate phone call to Hisami before her Mafia kidnappers drug her. Hours later she wakes up on a container ship, powering eastwards across the Mediterranean.Anastasia has been abducted and held hostage because Hisami has explosive information that his enemies have killed for and will kill for again. But Hisami's time as a commander with the Kurdish Peshmerga has caught up with him, and the US authorities have jailed him for possible past terrorist activities. For all his wealth, he is powerless to save his wife.Only one man can help him. Paul Samson, former MI6 agent and a genius at tracking missing persons. He's the obvious choice. There's only one snag. Samson was, and probably still is, in love with Anastasia. If he manages to locate and save her, will it be for Hisami - or himself?

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'Sumptuous and moving' LAURA PURCELL'A richly imagined and brilliantly twisty tale' ANNA MAZZOLA'A plot as finely detailed as Spitalfields silk' STACEY HALLSWHEN ESTHER THOREL, the wife of a Huguenot silk-weaver, rescues Sara Kemp from a brothel she thinks she is doing God's will. Sara is not convinced being a maid is better than being a whore, but the chance to escape her grasping 'madam' is too good to refuse.INSIDE THE THORELS' tall house in Spitalfields the two women forge an uneasy relationship. Sara despises her mistress's blindness to the hypocrisy of her household, while Esther is too wrapped up in her own secrets to see what's going on.ESTHER IS IN LOVE with silk design, till now the province of men. When her husband laughs at her ambition, it sets in motion events that will change the fate of the whole Thorel household and pave the way for a devastating day of reckoning between Esther and Sara.

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A completely gripping thriller full of dark family secrets and packed with suspense. For fans of Jane Harper.There is a place in Minnesota with hundreds of miles of glacial lakes and untouched forests called the Boundary Waters. Ten years ago a man and his son trekked into this wilderness and never returned. Until now. Lucas Blackthorn is nineteen, semi-feral, and now incarcerated in Congdon Psychiatric Institute after committing a violent assault. The police are desperate to hear his story; all Lucas wants is to return to the Boundary Waters, and his father. Therapist Maya Stark is tasked with preparing Lucas to face the world's questions. Maya has her own unfinished business with the Boundary Waters and, as she and Lucas grow closer, she sees a chance for them to help each other. She is prepared to risk everything to reunite him with his father and get answers to the questions that have haunted her all her adult life. But sometimes finding the truth is the worst thing you can do...

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'Captivating' Heather Morris 'Beautiful' Andrew Miller 'Hugely poignant' Independent 'Moving' Sunday TimesLonglisted for the Desmond Elliot Prize * Winner of the Bath Novel Award * Winner of the Harpers Bazaar Big Book of the Year * Shortlisted for the Best First Novel Award *Of everyone in her complicated family, Eva was always closest to her grandfather. She is making a film about his life. She is with him when he dies. It is only when she finds the letter from the Jewish Museum in Berlin, hidden in his painting studio, that she realises how many secrets he kept.As she uncovers everything he endured in the Holocaust - and what it took to learn to live again - Eva is confronted by the lies that haunt her family, and a truth that changes her own identity.Kim Sherwood's hope-filled first novel is a powerful portrait of survival echoing through the generations; a testament of love, legacy, and all the important questions we leave unasked.

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'MARTINA COLE FANS WILL LOVE THIS FAST-PACED THRILLER' SUNDAY MIRRORThey came for her family. Now she's coming for them. This nail-biting thriller introduces Glasgow's newest gangland mistress, Kerry Casey.Kerry Casey thought she'd made a life away from the dirty dealings of her gangster family. Her father wanted to make them legit - her brother Mickey had other ideas, and now it's got him killed. When Mickey's funeral turns into a bloodbath at the hands of a group of anonymous shooters and Kerry's mother is killed in the crossfire, Kerry finds herself at the head of the Casey family, and desperate for revenge.Running a crime empire is not a job she ever asked for, and not one she wants, but Kerry is determined to fulfil her father's wishes and make the Caseys go straight. First, though, she will find the men who murdered her mother, and she will take them down, no matter what it costs.

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A shattered moon. A secret plan. Last girl standing. Perfect for fans of Peter Hamilton, Alastair Reynolds and Charles Stross.Orry's father is the best conman in the quadrant, running elaborate heists with Orry and her brother Ethan to target the ruling families of the Ascendancy. This time should be no different: straight in and out with a fortune in spice paragon in hand . . .. . . until Orry goes off-script and everything falls apart. Less than an hour later the Count of Delf's only grandson is dead and she's on the run, accused of a murder she didn't commit.Turns out, the pendant Orry stole was crafted by the mysterious civilisation who once lived on the Shattermoon - and a lot of powerful people want it. It doesn't take ruthless space pirate Morven Dyas long to track her down, and he's not the only one on her tail. When she's unexpectedly rescued by loner Jurgen Mender and his spaceship, Dainty Jane, Orry knows there's only one thing to do.It requires all of her powers of persuasion to get Mender to agree to her plan, especially when even she can see the madness of pitting an inexperienced young grifter, a space-dog long past his best and an obsolete spaceship against the Imperial Fleet, the worst of the space pirates - and the alien Kadiran, who are getting bored with their uneasy truce with humankind . . . But what other choice does she have?

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**The thrilling new novel by the prize-winning author of Larchfield**'Passionate, remarkable and uplifting novel' Guardian'Grabbed me by the imagination and carried me into the wild' Laline PaullSet across two continents, Tiger is a sweeping story of survival and redeeming love that plunges the reader into one of the world's last wildernesses with blistering authenticity. Frieda is a primatologist, sensitive and solitary, until a violent attack shatters her ordered world. In her new role as a zookeeper, she confronts a very different ward: an injured wild tiger.Deep in the Siberian taiga, Tomas, a Russian conservationist, fears that the natural order has toppled. The king tiger has been killed by poachers and a spectacular tigress now patrols his vast territory as her own.In a winter of treacherous competition, the path of the tigress and her cub crosses with an Udeghe huntress and her daughter. Vengeance must follow, and the fates of both tigers and people are transformed.Learning of her tiger's past offers Frieda the chance of freedom. Faced with the savage forces of nature, she must trust to her instinct and, like the tiger, find a way to live in the world.

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THE THIRD TOM REYNOLDS MYSTERY FROM THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE PERFECT LIEAs he scanned the glade, his stomach lurched. One, two, three, four. Five, counting the mound of earth disturbed under the tent. Somebody had cleared the earth of its natural layer and sown their own flowers. In five places. Five graves.A young woman, Fiona Holland, has gone missing from a small Irish village. A search is mounted, but there are whispers. Fiona had a wild reputation. Was she abducted, or has she run away?A week later, a gruesome discovery is made in the woods at Ireland's most scenic beauty spot - the valley of Glendalough. The bodies are all young women who disappeared in recent years. D.I. Tom Reynolds and his team are faced with the toughest case of their careers - a serial killer, who hunts vulnerable women, and holds his victims captive before he ends their lives.Soon the race is on to find Fiona Holland before it's too late. . .PRAISE FOR JO SPAIN'S TOM REYNOLDS SERIES'A stunning read' Woman's Way'Refreshing and full of twists' Express'Clever, pacey, compulsive' Sunday Mirror'Expertly crafted, deeply immersive and timely' Irish Independent

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FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF SIX FOUR: A TENSE INVESTIGATION IN THE AFTERMATH OF AN AIR DISASTER - FOR FANS OF SPOTLIGHT AND AFTER THE CRASH.'He's a master' New York Times Book Review'Very different . . . to almost anything out there' Observer1985. Kazumasa Yuuki, a seasoned reporter at the North Kanto Times, runs a daily gauntlet against the power struggles and office politics that plague its newsroom. But when an air disaster of unprecedented scale occurs on the paper's doorstep, its staff are united by an unimaginable horror, and a once-in-a-lifetime scoop.2002. Seventeen years later, Yuuki remembers the adrenaline-fuelled, emotionally charged seven days that changed his and his colleagues' lives. He does so while making good on a promise he made that fateful week - one that holds the key to its last unsolved mystery, and represents Yuuki's final, unconquered fear.'Seventeen is a brilliant novel on any level - it's a gripping page turner, while remaining moving and complex. It's a deeply satisfying read and it will be a while before I read anything as good' William Ryan'An astringent, unforgiving picture of modern Japanese society' Guardian

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